John i



J. l. LOGAN.

METHOD 0F TREATING GRA|N.

APPucATIoN msn nic. 14. me.

Patented June 24, l9l9.

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Prvessum- @aupa uomac Pressure Rega/afar;

- of the fiour.

UNITED STATES PATENT oEFioE.

JOHN I. LOGAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

METHOD 0F TREAT'ING GRAIN.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J une 24, 1919.

Application led December 14, 1916. Serial No. 136,998.

`Grain, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the treatment of wheat prior to grinding thesame into flour, and a primary .object of the invention is to provide animproved method of treatment of the grain whereby the fiber and bra-n istoughened and its brittleness reduced and thereby rendered less-likelyto be pulverized during the milling of the grain. If the bran and theminute fibers of the wheat are dry, which is their ordinary conditionprior to the milling operation, the grinding of the grain reduces themto a fine powder which cannot be completely separated from the fiour bybolting. My improved method of treatment makes it possible to thoroughlyand uniformly toughen the bran and fibrous portion of the berry so thatinstead of being` pulverized this part of the grain is bro-ken up intpsuch form that it may be bolted out y As a result a better grade offlour may be produced, that is, a flour freer from fibrous particles andhence having better baking 'qualities `than is possible with presentmethods. Or at least, assuming that the flour as now produced can befreed to a very large extent of the fibrous portions of the grain, thisis only possible by very close bolting of the flour, and as a certainamount of fiour is left in the tailings so that successive re-boltingsare necessary, the amount 0f fiour of the first grade, according topresent methods, is less in proportion than it need be. By treating thewheat berry in accordance with my process the yield of first gradefiour, in comparison with the lower grades, is increased since the branparticles are larger and are, therefore, more easily bolted.

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A- further object of the invention is to provide for the cleansing andsterilization of the outside of the wheatberry so as to remove ordestroy bacterial growths. Various cleansing and scouring methodsdiavebeen used in preparing wheat for milling,

and these methods are more or less effective. They do not always,however, reach such organlc growths, germs, or other lmpuritles as mayhave lodged in the crevices or slight mdentations on the surface of theberry. The treatment provided by my invention, besides toughening thefibrous constituent of the grain both on the outside of the berry andwithin it, as above stated, operates to effectively cleanse the grain onthe outside and destroy entirely mold, rust, or other organic growths.v

The process consists essentially of impregnating the grain with andcausing the same to be permeated by a solution of water and chlorin.Water alone does not penetrate the grain soas to reach the inner fibersor, if it penetrates at all, does not do so uniformly. I have found thata weak solution of chlorin will penetrate the integument of the berry,soften and toughen it, and also the. net work of fibers within theberry. The presence of the chlorin in the flour and in the offal is notin any way deleterious. It apparently forms chlorids with certainconstituents of the grain and these chlorids are perfectly harmless. Thechlorin in the water also acts as a germicide and effectively destroysany bacterial growths on the outside of the grain, even those which arelocated in the crevices, indentations or creases in the integument, sothat this treatment besides working an improvement in the millingoperation removes a common source of contamination of the flour.

While the amount of chlorin may be varied without departure from mvinvention, and some variation will benecessary according to thecharacter and condition of the grain, `particularly as to the amount of.moisture which the grain may contain, I prefer to use for average casesabout one pound of pure liquefied chlorin gas to one hundred thousandgallons of water.

The accompanying drawing shows an apparatus suitable for carrying out myimproved. process.

Referring to the drawing, 1() is an absorption tower open at the top andclosed at the bottom except for a discharge pipe 11. The tower is filledwith pieces of porous maferial 12 not affected bv chlorin, for examplepumice stone. Water is introduced into ,the tower at the top by means ofa spraying is an automatically operatinglr controlling apparatuspreferably constructed as follows: 17, 1S aretwo automatie pressurereducing valves of any suitable type, arranged tandem. Beyond the secondvalve 18 is a fitting 19. Extending across the same is a thin diaphragm20 of non-corrosible metal, the diaphragm being formed with a minuteperforation 2l. 22 is a shut-,off valve and 23, 24 are pressure gages,the former indicating the pressure on the high pressure side of thereducing valve 17, and the latter the pressure against perforated disk21. By these arrangements a very delicate adjustment of the HOW ispossible. When the mechanism is once set the proper flow is maintainedautomatically.

The grain to be treated is carried under the spout 25 of the dischargepipe l1 by means of a conveyer 26, or other suitable device. Preferablythe discharge pipe is formed With a downward bender loop 27 whichprovides a trap to prevent the escape from the tower of any free chloringas.

It will be understood that the process is not in any sense limited 'tothe particular type of apparatus above described.

I claim:

Improvement in the manufacture of Wheat Hour which consists in causingvthe grain before grinding to be permeated with a solution of chlorin andWater.

JHN LOGAN.

